Ys X: Nordics is making its way west.

The long-running Nihon Falcom action RPG series will see its 10th numbered installment release in North America and Europe this fall on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, and PC. The game originally released in Japan on Sept. 28, 2023.

NIS America teased the announcement an announcement on X (formerly Twitter) by posting a picture of a pair of dice each with a five. The official announcement came via a video on NIS America’s YouTube channel.

Since its release in Japan, Ys X: Nordics has garnered an 84% score on OpenCritic though that’s based on three reviews. PlayStation 5 users gave the original release an average 8.3 on Metacritic, a score based on 17 reviews.

Ys X: Nordics is a seafaring journey that includes longtime protagonist Adol Christin. Christin joins Karja Barta, a local of the Northern Sea, as the two work to save Obelia Bay.

The game is unique in that it uses a new combat system than its predecessor Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. The Cross Action system allows players to either fight in solo combat or using combination mode, which combines both Adol and Karja’s abilities.

The Ys series has recently gained notoriety in the West thanks to both Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. Both games released in Japan first before making their ways to the West after a few years. This does mark the quickest turnaround for localization between the three games.

Reacting to the News

I played my first Ys game about three years ago and immediately fell in love with the franchise. Many people were like me and played Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana as their first game in the series and loved it.

As an admittedly newcomer to the series, I am still so excited nonetheless. I wasn’t even expecting this news so soon either given that it took longer for the other two to head westward.

Still, this game has looked like a lot of fun since the moment I saw the first trailer. Combat, in particular, looks like a lot of fun, adding in a wrinkle from your typical hack-and-slash action RPG.

This game releasing on the PlayStation 5, specifically, should help as Sony doesn’t have any plans for existing major franchises for the next year. That doesn’t necessarily mean no games from Sony, as Rise of the Ronin seems to indicate, but having a long-running franchise like Ys does help bolster the console.

The other interesting factor here is the plans for it to release on the Nintendo Switch. The console has had issues keeping up with newer games given its use of older hardware dating back to 2017.

I am particularly interested to see how this game will run on the Switch and how that may relate into the Switch’s successor and its status. Watching combat does beg the question of how the Switch can handle its fast-paced nature so it’ll be interesting to watch that moving forward.

Regardless of where it releases, this game looks fantastic and comes during a year where Visions of Mana, a cousin of sorts to Ys, is also on the calendar. I will be looking forward to the official release date.

Source: NIS America

Featured Image: NIS America (via Game Informer)

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